It's a Kind of Magic
by daegana616
Summary: Arthur and Merlin have just reclaimed Camelot. However destiny does not leave them time to relax. Via a strange statue they are taken from the comfort and safety of Camelot and transported somewhere stranger than either of them could ever imagine...


Set after the series 3 finale, Merlin and Arthur head out to retrieve some of the items that they had to leave behind at the ruins and the cave (am I the only one who noticed that Merlin left his spell book?); during this trip they are brought to another famous Castle…..

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MERLIN++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Come on Merlin! I want to be back by sundown!" Arthur grumbled, already sat in his horse as Merlin attempted to swing himself up onto his.

"Why do you keep knights and servants around? You seem to just do everything yourself… meaning I have to come too" Merlin muttered under his breath nudging his horse into a trot after Arthurs.

Once they were safely out of Camelot they slowed down to a walk, this meant Merlin could regain some semblance of control over the animal. Merlin turned in his saddle so he could see Arthur's profile, "how's your father" he muttered studying the Prince's face carefully.

They had reclaimed the castle over a week ago and the King was yet to appear in public. The public were starting to talk, and as Gaius had said the Kings hold on his people was tenuous at best. Merlin would never have dared to expect a response from this question even two weeks ago; but the master servant dynamic had been shifting for a while. He was more than that to Arthur he knew. Which is why he was deeply concerned when the Prince's only response was to look at him and Kick his horse into a faster trot through the trees.

Merlin knew that for the prince not to even chastise him for asking too personal a question he had to be very concerned for Uther's health. It was not his body that was the problem. Although he was indeed an old man, he kept himself fit and in shape. But his mind had been severely damaged by the mandrake root and Morgana's betrayal had sent it over the edge. Gaius had prescribed rest and a potion said to calm the mind, but to Merlin he had confided his doubts over his ability to rule. He knew Arthur was wary of taking up the crown, he didn't feel he was ready to run a kingdom. And part of him desired to maintain the freedom he had now; once crowned he couldn't go off hunting every beast out there, he would have to be responsible and put all concerns of the kingdom before his own.

The rest of the ride continued in silence until they reached the outcrop they had hidden in until Morgause and her blood guard had tracked them down. Merlin grabbed his satchel relieved to feel the weight of his spell book, at least the raiding party had been too busy tracking them to search what was left; the last thing he needed was for Morgana to learn his secret. Looking around they gathered a few other items, including some of Gaius' herbs before turning to ride for the Ruins of the Ancient Kings.

Merlin followed Arthur as he ran his hand fondly over the table, remembering the last time that they had sat at this table he had been planning the ultimate sacrifice in order to help Arthur regain his kingdom. He shook his head clearing it of how close he had come to actually dying this time. If Gaius had not turned up when he did he was not sure he would have had the strength to ward off Morgause's attack.

Arthur seemed to notice Merlin's silence and rounded on him, "if all you're going to do is mope Merlin, you can make yourself useful and see if there is anything interesting in this place"

Merlin shaken out of his daze looked around, "but there are hundreds of rooms! It'll take me ages to search them all!"

But Arthur wasn't listening he was already assessing the armour dotted around the room. Merlin mock bowed and muttered "yes sire" under his breath before turning and heading up the passage. He stopped as a pulse of magical power went through him, hesitating he turned and began following it further down the draughty passages, passing countless rooms. He was dimly aware of Arthur calling him, but nothing mattered he wanted – no needed – to know what was creating such power.

He finally stumbled across what once must have been a great library; though all that remained were a few dog eared books and empty shelves. Through these stacks he followed the magic, it was growing stronger, and the pulses were becoming more frequent. He felt like he was being reeled in and just as he began to question the intelligence of following a strange magical trail he found the source.

Lying on a plain table in the centre of the room was an innocuous looking wooden statue. Merlin reached out to touch it and withdrew his hand as if it had been burnt; the aura around the statue was thick with magical energy. Merlin bent down to look closer at the statue. It was about as tall as his hand and well worn with age; it showed an old man in a flowing robe holding a staff. The face was worn away, the features almost blending into one another.

He steeled himself and edged his hand closer until he was touching the edge of the figure. Sighing as nothing happened he tipped it into his waiting palm with his left hand; holding it there was nothing to suggest magical ability, other than being slightly warmer to the touch than real wood should.

"Merlin!" he shuddered as Arthur slapped a hand on his back. "I've been calling for ages! We need to head back to the palace before dark"

"Yeah wouldn't want you to have to sleep on the floor again" Merlin muttered stuffing the statue in the bag at his side. Maybe Gaius would know what it was.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MERLIN++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Merlin sighed again and poked the fire; they had barely left the castle when the heavens opened. However instead of doing the logical thing and turning back to the warm dry castle Arthur had insisted that they continued on, in the hopes that it would let up enough for them to make it back. However once the storm broke there was no taking the horses anywhere. Finally, drenched and freezing, Arthur had found a cave where they could sleep for the night; Merlin had taken one look at the floor and tried to remember the spell that softened rock.

Calming the horses had taken up the rest of the daylight, so he had been forced to go and find sodden logs in the dark and fight with the tinder to light them. Or so Arthur thought, as soon as he had turned his back a quietly muttered spell had flames greedily eating the logs. So now he was bored, resorting to poking the fire every now and then to occupy his time; Arthur had immediately flopped down on the ground with his head on Merlin's pack. Merlin kept one eye on it apprehensively; Arthur had not brought anything with him and had insisted that as the servant he give up his satchel as a pillow. Merlin could hardly refuse but knew that if Arthur decided to have a rummage he would find the spell book.

Sure enough he was tossing and turning on the floor obviously finding the 'pillow' uncomfortable. But instead of pulling out the book as Merlin had anticipated he drew out the statue. Merlin gave a start; he had forgotten that he had taken that.

Arthur was turning it in his hands examining it in the firelight. Merlin could still feel the low ebb of the magic calling to him. The statue wanted him to touch it, he could feel his hand moving of its own accord. Seeking the source of that strange magic. Before Arthur could say anything Merlin's fingertips came in contact with the smooth wood of the statue. For a heartbeat nothing happened and Merlin relaxed, the magic felt calmer now, muted. Then he felt a strange tug behind his navel and before he could let out a yell of warning he was sent falling backwards. The firelight going out even though there was no wind to speak of. After a few more seconds he realised that he was still falling in the dark; though he should have hit the stone floor long ago. He could still feel the wood of the sorcerer statue underneath his fingers, but he was unable to move them. It felt like they were stuck to the wood. He tried moving his other hand to find Arthur, but he seemed to find only air.

Just when he had decided that he had gone blind, light and sound returned to him. Looking up he realised that he was no longer in a damp cave on the outskirts of Camelot, but in a castle. Dusty bookshelves stretched high above him on either side, all of them filled to the brim with books, the binds of them cracked and dusty with age. Groaning he sat up one hand on his pounding head. Looking around he saw a familiar figure standing with his back to him looking up the corridor of books.

"Merlin get up" Arthur snapped, though Merlin could not tell if he was angry at him or not.

"Wh-Where are we?" he managed to say, standing and looking around. The view hadn't improved.

"Don't know, you picked up something magical there Merlin, it did something when you touched it. And now we are here, know anything about that?" he said sarcastically. Merlin heaved a silent sigh of relief. Arthur thought Merlin had found the statue by accident. Sometimes though, he worried how many more signs Arthur would have to ignore before he was forced into believing what Merlin was.

"I think this is a library, maybe one of these books can tell us something" He joked back, there had to be hundreds of books on these shelves. Gaius would have had a field day.

"Good idea, I'll scout ahead you get reading"

Merlin sighed but grabbed a book at random anyway, he may get lucky and it could describe exactly what happened to them. The book he opened was full of a spidery script that he did not recognise, but the way the words and symbols were laid out left it unmistakable what the book was used for.

Shocked he looked at some of the other titles still readable through the dust.

"101 uses for Belladonna"

"Dark curses and their uses"

"Arthur" he called softly, "this is a magical library, be careful there could be traps"

Arthur looked back at him and grabbed a book to confirm his story, however as soon as the heavy tome opened in his hands an unearthly shrieking began.

"Run!" Arthur yelled dropping the book, he and Merlin took off down the stacks of books, not knowing if they were heading further in or out of the strange library.

After what seemed like ages the screams began to die down, and the shelves opened up into a larger room with lots of desks. Over in one corner was a large archway leading to a different part of the castle.

"Over there" Merlin panted stopping briefly for a breath. Arthur nodded but didn't speak, his eyes darting all over the room.

They advanced more slowly this time, unsure of what they would find beyond the doorway. As they reached it Arthur hurled himself round the corner, sword first. There was no one in sight except for a small mangy cat with bright yellow eyes. Merlin bent to pet it, ignoring Arthur's derogatory sigh, when it threw its head back and began yowling. Arthur stepped forward sword held high ready to lop the offending animals head off, when a low cursing and a light could be seen coming up the corridor. Merlin wasted no time, tugging on Arthurs arm pulling him away from the strange man. This was probably the man who had brought them there.

Breaking into an all out sprint for the second time in so many minutes Merlin's chest felt like it was about to explode. However they didn't slow until they reached a split in the corridor. One way seemed to lead outside, Merlin thought he could see moonlight. The other lead into a darkened corridor. The torches that had illuminated all the other passages inexplicably extinguished. Arthur seemed to make a decision, turning to head out of the castle he began moving stealthily so as not to attract the man's attention.

He skidded to a halt suddenly as a giant shadow began moving in front of the moonlight. Obviously something huge and unfriendly lead in that direction. Merlin backed away turning towards the darkened corridor. However this way was blocked as well. A floating figure was making its way towards them, letting off an ethereal glow. None of this was possible, Merlin brought his hand up of it's own accord, confident that he could simply attack the figure. It was only the thought of Arthur standing behind him with a very large sword that restrained him and made him turn back.

Trapped Merlin and Arthur backed into an alcove with a giant statue of an eagle. Merlin reaching out and grabbing hold of one wing intending on swinging himself behind it. As soon as his hand touched the cold metal he felt a sharp shock between him and the statue followed by the sensation of a connection being made, and the stature began to rotate, lifting them from the ground as a series of circular steps began moving upwards. Merlin caught Arthurs gaze. What the hell was going on?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MERLIN++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As the moving steps reached a new room Merlin and Arthur flung themselves off. Neither wanting to remain on the magical device any longer than necessary. Arthur was in full battle mode, sheathing his sword and drawing a small dagger in case of close combat. Merlin on the other hand was looking around the room with interest. A soft snoring filled the room, though he could not tell where it came from. Many of the portraits on the wall of the circular room depicted sleeping grey haired men and women. Though some appeared empty. This reinforced his opinion that they were in an entirely magical castle.

His eye was drawn to a large red bird perched near a desk. The bird watched him with intelligent eyes that seemed to know everything. He cocked his head to one side, watching slightly amused as the bird copied. Drawing closer he brought his hand up to pet it when a sound made him and the bird jump.

Turning sharply he saw Arthur facing an old man in flowing lavender robes. The man looked shocked to see them there his attention focused on Arthur for the moment, not surprising seeing as he was the only one with a weapon.

"Who are you" He demanded, closely followed by a similar statement from the prince. Arthur snorted derivatively.

"You should know, sorcerer you brought us here, now send us back!"

Merlin moved slowly until he was level with the fair haired prince, he knew that this man had magic, he could not risk Arthur provoking him into an attack.

For a long moment the man said nothing, simply looking at the two of them gravely.

"I am afraid I am not the one you are looking for, how did you come to be standing in my office?"

Arthur lost his temper, he had been kidnapped thrown into a strange castle, attacked by books and cats and run for his life. He was past breaking point. Merlin wisely ducked as he brought the dagger up and threw it at the man. Merlin knew from experience that the shot was aimed to miss and simply to scare the target into giving the Prince what he wanted. However he was not prepared for what happened next.

The man brought his hand up sharply, Merlin glimpsed a short smooth twig held firmly in it, before he brought it down in a slashing motion causing the dagger to change direction and implant itself firmly in the ceiling. Merlin was prepared for his next attack, as the twig came round to face them again the man speaking in a strange language, Merlin felt his own magic respond. As when he had saved Arthur from the Witches dagger he felt the world slow down around him, giving him long enough to drag Arthur away and the long streak of yellow light to miss them by a hair.

Arthur, being the stupid idiot he was, was up in an instant sword in hand.

"Big mistake, when my father hears about this you will lose your head sorcerer"

This caused the old man to look confused, he seemed to look at the pair of them more closely this time, taking in Arthur's sword and the dragon emblazoned on his chest. He seemed to reach a decision bringing his hand with the twig up once more. Merlin knew he was about to attack and had no idea how to protect Arthur without revealing himself.

Merlin knew that the time had come, they were trapped, probably sentenced to death anyway. Now was the time for him to tell Arthur the truth. Arthur had noticed the change in the man's countenance and had shifted himself to stand slightly in front of the defenceless Merlin. Merlin however had other ideas, putting all his weight into it he grabbed hold of Arthur's cape and swung him around, placing himself between Arthur and the old man. He ignored Arthur's yelp of surprise and raised his hand.

"Complete that spell and you die" he intoned, not used to threats and hoping it had the desired effect.

"Merlin…" Arthur began, understanding finally dawning. Merlin was dying to turn around to see the look on his face, or to defend himself from the final blow. However he maintained eye contact with the old man, as it was he saw the flicker in the man's eyes as he fixed Merlin with a hard stare, almost disbelieving.

"You are Merlin" he finally said, lowering his hand.

"Y-Yes" he managed, the man spoke like he knew him, "who are you?"

The man ignored him however turning to address Arthur, "So you must be the noble Arthur"

"Prince" Arthur corrected automatically, moving to stand next to Merlin, "if you didn't bring us here who did, what the hell is going on?"

"Firstly, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and this is Hogwarts, school for magic".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++MERLIN++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Whew, this is my first story since my muse left me. I am still working on evolution? As well as Half-Breed for anyone who has read them.

Sadly during last year I lost some-one close to me. I will return to my other stories as soon as my muse returns to me. This story is about encouraging me to write again.

Please read and review!

Daegana x


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